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<br />NORTH CAROLINA HEALTH NEWS <br />News. Policy. Trends. North Carolina. <br /> <br /> <br />Advocates for Medicaid Expansion <br />Continue Their Uphill Climb <br />Photo by Rose Hoban <br />April 5, 2017 by Rose Hoban Leave a Comment <br />A broad coalition of health care advocates showed up at the General <br />Assembly on Tuesday to press - again - for the legislature to expand the <br />Medicaid program. <br />By Rose Hoban <br />Four years have passed since the North Carolina legislature passed Senate Bill 4, <br />which rejected an opportunity to provide health insurance access to about half a million <br />low income people in the state: Four years, one governor, one president, and countless <br />rallies, petition drives, protests, focus groups and meetings with legislators. <br />All to no avail. <br />Health care advocate Leslie Boyd speaks to Sen. Floyd McKissick (D-Durham) about <br />her son, Mike, who was diagnosed with a late stage cancer 10 years ago, but had <br />difficulty finding treatment because he was uninsured. Mike died soon after. Photo <br />credit: Rose Hoban <br />Still, advocates came to the legislature on Tuesday to press l awmakers to take <br />advantage of an Affordable Care Act provision that would allow for the state to extend <br />Medicaid coverage to low income North Carolinians who make too much to qualify for <br />the current program, but not enough to qualify for subsidies to cover the costs of their <br />insurance premiums.